BACKGROUND: Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in children presents considerable challenges. Upfront testing on Xpert® MTB/RIF ('Xpert')-a rapid molecular assay with high sensitivity and specificity-for pediatric presumptive TB patients, as recommended by India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), can pave the way for early TB diagnosis. As part of an ongoing project implemented by Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) dedicated to providing upfront free-of-cost (FOC) Xpert testing to children seeking care in the public and private sectors, a qualitative assessment was designed to understand how national guidelines on TB diagnosis and Xpert technology have been integrated into the pediatric TB care practices of different health providers...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate adherence to the sepsis bundle before and after an educational strategy and its impact on hospital stay. DESIGN: A prospective, analytic, before-and-after study of children with severe sepsis and septic shock who presented to the emergency department. SETTING: Carried out from January to December 2014 in the emergency department of a quaternary care hospital. PATIENTS: Of a total of 19,836 children who presented to the emergency department, 4,383 had an infectious pathology, with 203 of these showing severe sepsis and septic shock (124 pre intervention, and 79 post intervention)...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to update the 2010 evidence- and consensus-based national clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in adult patients. Results are published in 2 parts. Part 1 covers methods, the definition of patient groups, and diagnostics. This second publication focuses on treatment of acute episodes of cystitis and pyelonephritis as well as on prophylaxis of recurrent UTIs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An interdisciplinary group consisting of 17 representatives of 12 medical societies and a patient representative was formed...

The incidence of clostridium difficile infections (CDI) remains on a high level globally. In Germany, the number of severe or even lethal cases continues to increase. The main risk factor for the development of CDI is exposure to broad spectrum antibiotics, which disturb the physiological microbiome and therefore enable colonization with C. difficile. According to the updated US and European guidelines, orally administered vancomycin is the treatment of choice. Fidaxomicin is as effective as vancomycin but has the advantage of a lower rate of recurrence...

Appropriate antimicrobial therapy is essential to ensuring positive patient outcomes. Inappropriate or suboptimal utilization of antibiotics can lead to increased length of stay, multidrug-resistant infections, and mortality. Critically ill intensive care patients, particularly those with severe sepsis and septic shock, are at risk of antibiotic failure and secondary infections associated with incorrect antibiotic use. Through the initiation of active empiric antibiotic therapy based upon local susceptibilities, daily evaluation of signs and symptoms of infection and narrowing of antibiotic therapy when feasible, providers can streamline the treatment of common intensive care unit (ICU) infections...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review aims to provide clinicians engaged in the care of infants and children an update on the current understanding of the epidemiology, etiology, diagnostic evaluation, and clinical management of complicated pneumonia. The review provides timely information surrounding areas of consensus and ongoing research. RECENT FINDINGS: The epidemiology and etiologies of complicated pneumonia continue to evolve over the past several decades in context of the introduction of new vaccines...

BACKGROUND: Prolonged or inappropriate antibiotic therapy increases the risk of health-care-associated infections and the development of resistance to antibiotics, and lengthens hospital admissions. There are clear guidelines on antimicrobial stewardship which state that antibiotics should be reviewed between 48 and 72 hours from commencement ( National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, 2015 ). Despite these guidelines this review was often not documented as having been carried out on the authors' inpatient wards...

BACKGROUND: The decreasing eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori is mainly because of the progressive increase in its resistance to antibiotics. Studies on antimicrobial susceptibility of H. pylori in children are limited. This study aimed to investigate the resistance rates and patterns of H. pylori strains isolated from children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gastric mucosa biopsy samples obtained from children who had undergone upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were cultured for H...

Low-resource settings are disproportionately burdened by infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Good quality clinical bacteriology through a well functioning reference laboratory network is necessary for effective resistance control, but low-resource settings face infrastructural, technical, and behavioural challenges in the implementation of clinical bacteriology. In this Personal View, we explore what constitutes successful implementation of clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings and describe a framework for implementation that is suitable for general referral hospitals in low-income and middle-income countries with a moderate infrastructure...

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered as important candidate therapeutic agents, which exert potent microbicidal properties against bacteria, fungi and some viruses. Based on our previous findings king cobra cathelicidin (OH-CATH) is a 34-amino acid peptide that exerts strong antibacterial and weak hemolytic activity. The aim of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of both OH-CATH30 and its analog D-OH-CATH30 against clinical isolates comparing with routinely utilized antibiotics in vitro...

The Working Party makes more than 100 tabulated recommendations in antimicrobial prescribing for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) and suggest further research, and algorithms for hospital and community antimicrobial usage in urinary infection. The international definition of MDR is complex, unsatisfactory and hinders the setting and monitoring of improvement programmes. We give a new definition of multiresistance. The background information on the mechanisms, global spread and UK prevalence of antibiotic prescribing and resistance has been systematically reviewed...

Piperacillin, in combination with tazobactam is a common first-line antibiotic used for the treatment of pleural infection, however its pleural pharmacokinetics and penetration has not previously been reported. The objective of this work was to develop and validate a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay for quantification of piperacillin (PIP) and tazobactam (TAZ). PIP and TAZ were extracted from both human plasma and pleural fluid samples by protein precipitation in methanol containing the internal standards (IS) piperacillin-d5 (PIP-d5 ) and sulbactam (SUL)...

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines focusing on judicious use of antibiotics for childhood acute otitis media (AOM) have been introduced in many countries around the world. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the effects of these guidelines on the prescription of antibiotics and analgesics for children with AOM. METHODS: Systematic searches of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library from inception to 6 June 2017 using broad search terms. Studies specifically aimed at evaluating the effects of introduction of national AOM practice guidelines on type of antibiotic and/or analgesic prescriptions were included, irrespective of design, setting or language...

INTRODUCTION: Surgeons frequently use surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP), despite limited evidence to support its efficacy. Potential adverse events associated with antibiotic use include allergic reaction (including anaphylaxis), Clostridium difficile infection, and selecting for resistant bacteria. Surgical site infections (SSI) are very rare in patients undergoing clean pediatric urologic procedures. Current guidelines are unclear about the efficacy of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of SSI in the pediatric population...